> (controversial) stance on the scientific method.
That stance is well-covered here.[1]
Some of the problems in science come from experiments too close to the noise threshold. This is most of social science and psychology. The hard-line position is Rutherford's "If your experiment needs statistics, you ought to have done a better experiment."
Related to this is Hoyle's "Science is prediction, not explanation."
For phenomena that led to useful engineering, repeatability and predictability are very good.
Otherwise the products won't work.
People tend to forget this, because controversial research topics are often close to the noise threshold. It something turns out to be real, and you can get it to happen further from the threshold, it becomes routine engineering. It's then no longer controversial. Your result gets a few lines in the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. This sort of science makes the world go.
Philip K. Dick's “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away” remains useful.
Taking this hard-line position is useful, because humans are evolved and wired to see patterns near the noise threshold. This is a useful survival strategy for detecting predators in the brush, even with a high false-alarm rate.
Once past survival level, it's less useful.
That stance is well-covered here.[1]
Some of the problems in science come from experiments too close to the noise threshold. This is most of social science and psychology. The hard-line position is Rutherford's "If your experiment needs statistics, you ought to have done a better experiment." Related to this is Hoyle's "Science is prediction, not explanation." For phenomena that led to useful engineering, repeatability and predictability are very good. Otherwise the products won't work.
People tend to forget this, because controversial research topics are often close to the noise threshold. It something turns out to be real, and you can get it to happen further from the threshold, it becomes routine engineering. It's then no longer controversial. Your result gets a few lines in the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. This sort of science makes the world go.
Philip K. Dick's “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away” remains useful.
Taking this hard-line position is useful, because humans are evolved and wired to see patterns near the noise threshold. This is a useful survival strategy for detecting predators in the brush, even with a high false-alarm rate. Once past survival level, it's less useful.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/magazine/bruno-latour-pos...